Maj. Gen. William T. Crosby, Program Executive Office Aviation, and Maj. Gen. Lynn A. Collyar, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, discuss the status of Army aviation during the aviation symposium hosted by the Association of the United States Army at the National Harbor in Maryland. (Contributed photo/U.S. Army)

With troop drawdowns already on the agenda and looming
threats of sequestration, Army aviation is bracing for changes in the near future.
Such changes will also impact suppliers who work with the
military, according to Major Gen. Lynn Collyar, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile
Command based at Redstone Arsenal.

Collyar was one of the speakers during an aviation symposium
hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army at National Harbor in Maryland
earlier this month. He was joined by Major Gen. William T. Crosby, Program
Executive Office Aviation, also based on Redstone.

The end of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and planned force
reductions in the coming year will mean a slower tempo for Army aviation,
Collyar said, which means it will be using fewer supplies than before. This
slowdown impacts suppliers, who are required to have all their equipment tested
and certified before they can sell to the Army.

Fewer orders for new equipment make it harder for suppliers
to know how much raw materials will be needed and more difficult to schedule
their own workloads. And, Collyar said, a supply that once would have lasted
only months may now last years, leaving the supplier with an excess of
inventory.

"How do I keep the small manufacturer in business as I
draw (on) that two years of stock? How do I draw that down and still buy enough
from the manufacturers to keep them economically viable?" Collyar said at
the symposium.

Collyar suggested the Army should show manufacturers what it
has in stock and its projected usage rates.

"It really comes down to partnering," Collyar
said.

Crosby said another alternative would be opening up military
sales to foreign nations. This would help the American defense industrial base
weather the changes at home, he said.

"When we slow down production, to maintain and sustain
that industrial base, it behooves us to help our original equipment
manufacturers partner with those customers. And sometimes, by nature of when
they come in to procure something, they can procure an upgrade we are unable to
afford," Crosby said. "Not only does that keep the production line
warm, it is then something that can flow over into our side."

Crosby said potential partners include European and Pacific
nations.

Collyar and Crosby said the new fiscal environment is
prompting Army aviation to look at long-term planning and ways to invest in
platforms that are both durable and sustainable.

Collyar said many people think the cost of a system is 30
percent procurement, 70 percent sustainment. However, he said, such a breakdown
is for a system with a 20-year lifecycle, as opposed to today's systems with a
30-to-50 year lifecycle. That changes the breakdown to 20/80 or even 10/90, he
said, and requires even greater long-range planning.

"Knowing that a platform is going to be there for 20 or
30 years, is that the same platform we need today that we are going to need 30
years from now?" he asked.

Collyar said one way to prolong a system's viability is to
design it so it can be upgraded in the future at a lower cost. Crosby agreed but
said the older the platform, the harder it is to upgrade. He cited Chinook and
Black Hawk as examples.

"The challenge we have is how do we keep those
platforms viable ... so far as technology insertion," he said. "The
platform is what we have, but how do we insert these new technologies? We can't
continue to strap on tools. We've got to find a way with these digitized
platforms to integrate those systems and upgrade them without re-designing
them."